Stainless Steel vs Surgical Steel Body Jewelry: What's the Difference?

Stainless steel vs surgical steel body jewelry: what’s the difference?

Surgical steel is Stainless steel but not all stainless steels are Surgical. Stainless steel is a generic term for a variety of different grades of steel. Stainless steel is a steel alloy mostly made-up iron with chromium added to it, the chromium is why it’s called ‘stainless’, as it prevents the steel from rusting. Only under extreme conditions, such as long-term exposure to salt water will stainless steel begin corrode. 

Surgical stainless steel is a very broad term.

Surgical steel or stainless surgical steel or surgical stainless steel (they all mean the same thing) is used in the medical field as surgical steel is available in implant grade . So, what does that mean? Standards are set for what materials get the coveted title “implant grade.” There are currently two types of surgical steel matching these standards: 316L and 316LVM . This grade of steel has an even lower corrosion rate and is rated safe for the body, most medical and dental tools are made from it as well as pins, plates and screws used in the body.

BodyMods surgical steel earrings and body jewelry come in two grades of steel:

These grades have successfully worked in human implants. 316L is a low-carbon variety of 316 steel, 316LVM is 316L’s cool big sister. How so? Get ready for some science. LVM stands for Low Carbon Vacuum Melted. The vacuum stops air or airborne contaminants from attaching to the metal’s molecules. This results in more consistent and resilient steel.

316L + 316LVM’s official qualifications:

• ASTM designation F138 for Implant Grade Stainless Steel

• ISO standards 5832-1 and 6892 for Surgical Implant Material and Requirements Against Nickel Allergies.

Surgical steel is not hypoallergenic.

To add to the confusion, hypoallergenic is another term that is not used in the industry at all! This is because, like stainless steel, hypoallergenic is too broad a term as there is no industry standard for what this term means. Many people assume that jewelry that is labelled as hypoallergenic is nickel free . However, that is not the case. Both 316L+ 316LVM surgical steel contains other alloys that some people may react to. Nickel is one of the better-known metals you can be allergic to in steel. The specific mix of metal in 316L + 316LVM allows for limited exposure to nickel. Thus, reducing the risk of reacting to being almost non-existent.

What metal is the best for sensitive skin?

If you are allergic to surgical steel, you will begin reacting as soon as you insert it through your piercing. If you are someone who knows they have an allergy to surgical steel opting for nickel-free jewelry such as titanium would be the most comfortable. Many people think that gold is the best alternative if they have a sensitivity, but 14k gold has almost the same amount of nickel as surgical steel. BodyMods carries a large amount surgical steel body jewelry, but if you’re very sensitive to metals and are on the search for earrings that will work for your body and fashion style, we have tons of titanium options!